View SlideshowRequest to buy this photoJONATHAN QUILTER | DISPATCHOhio State quarterback Braxton Miller leads an Ohio State offense that mirrors many across the country, using a quick tempo to wear out opposing defenses and light up the scoreboard.

Ohio State made history the past two weeks, although it was a double-edged sword.

Never before had a Buckeyes team won consecutive games while yielding as many points as OSU did against Nebraska and Indiana.

The 87 points surrendered is the second-most in a two-game span in school history. You’d have to go back 110 years to find an instance of the Buckeyes giving up more.

In 1902, OSU gave up 91 points over two weeks, but almost all the damage came in an 86-0 loss to Michigan. Kenyon took a 51-5 beating the next week.

It is a new world in college football, and the Buckeyes under coach Urban Meyer are part of it. The Jim Tressel era ended only two seasons ago, but Ohio State has entered a new age.

“The amount of scoring and offense is crazy,” said receiver Jake Stoneburner, a fifth-year senior. “It hasn’t been like that since I’ve been here, especially with our offense. You’d think (under Tressel) if we scored 24 points, we’re winning, no matter what. I think that’s what coach Meyer brings to the offense — being able to score points at will.”

The Buckeyes aren’t the only team lighting up the scoreboard. West Virginia and Baylor set the bar high with their 70-63 game on Sept.29, but high-scoring games now seem the rule rather than the exception.

“Obviously, it has been a revolution on offense,” Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby said. “The offenses are more fast-paced. They’re spread out and throwing the ball everywhere. It’s kind of like basketball on turf.”

Funny he should use that term, because today’s opponent, Purdue, played what was described as “basketball on grass” under former coach Joe Tiller, a pioneer of the spread offense.

Meyer would never describe Ohio State’s offense that way. His philosophy is that the Buckeyes play power football from a spread alignment.

After early growing pains, the offense is flourishing.

If the Buckeyes score 35 points today against Purdue, they will match their point total of 318 in the entire 13-game season in 2011. Considering that the Boilermakers were torched for a combined 82 points in losses to Michigan and Wisconsin the past two weeks, 35 seems quite achievable.

“I figured when coach Meyer came, it was going to be exciting and we would score a lot of points,” quarterback Braxton Miller said.

A big reason for the points explosion is the turbo-charged pace that teams such as Ohio State are using. Meyer brought the spread from Florida, but it was offensive coordinator Tom Herman who instilled the no-huddle, quicker-snap ethic.

“They’re moving the ball so fast that they’re having a lot of plays,” Roby said of offenses generally. “Defenses aren’t ready for that. Some defenses get tired or just aren’t good enough to keep up.”

Roby likes that more plays mean more opportunities for big plays on defense, but the pace can test even a well-conditioned college athlete.

“Last year, I played about 40-something or 50-something snaps as a full-time player,” Roby said. “Last week, I played 82 snaps.”

Factor in special-teams plays, on which many Buckeyes starters play, and fatigue becomes an issue.

“At the end of the day, I’m very tired,” Roby said.

So are coaches, from the stress of managing games with so many points scored. Although the Buckeyes survived the past two weeks, Meyer said having to score that often is not the way to build a program that wins consistently.

“In the long run, no,” he said. “I think temporarily it can (help). The ones that get to where the air is rare, the real elite teams, at some point you have to play some really good defense. And they all do.

“The top two right now are Alabama and Florida, the two best defenses in America. The great teams we’ve had (at Florida) over the years … yeah, we scored some points, but at the end of the day, defense wins games.”